Embodiments of the invention described in this specification relate generally to weapons containers, and more particularly, to weapons container security.
Many people spend a substantial amount of time in areas that are considered to be free of guns. The notion that some areas of daily life are free of guns is supported by social norms that shape expectations and behavior. For example, people typically do not bring guns to schools, places of religious worship, maternity wards, etc. While it is largely true that most people in gun free environments are not armed, massacres of people in gun free zones are on the rise because the killers know that the victims have limited means of protection. In particular, such massacres are occurring more often than not at schools with children. When a person is prepared to commit malicious and capital offenses, laws preventing the person from carrying a gun into a school zone are largely incapable of working. Because schools are (by law and social norm) gun free zones, preventing such massacres is exceedingly difficult. For instance, a would-be killer who is not deterred by criminal punishment arising out of a murder conviction is capable of randomly killing multiple defenseless children and teachers. As students, teachers, and school administrators do not arm themselves in school zones, schools must rely on the proper enforcement authorities (e.g., police) to protect the children. However, before the police can incapacitate (e.g., kill or apprehend) the killer, there is a window of time for the killer to shoot and kill many children. For instance, even under the best conditions, it could take several minutes for police to arrive at the school and incapacitate the killer.
A weapon cabinet (e.g., a gun cabinet) could be utilized to solve this timing problem. By equipping teachers and/or school administrators with the means of protection, many lives could be saved. Current gun cabinets may include unlock devices to ensure that the guns in the cabinet are only accessible to authorized personnel. However, such gun cabinets typically do not include routine (e.g., 24 hours per day, 7 days per week) monitoring upon activation. Furthermore, these gun cabinets are not suited for massacre situations that may require live video recording, two-way voice communication, and/or dispatching capabilities. For example, even if a killer enters a classroom and is incapacitated by a gunshot wound from the teacher, several other co-conspirator killers may be acting in concert to kill as many people as possible.